Budget Not Likely To Affect Parks This Year

There will likely be no additional state park closures this year, despite Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s call for a nearly $19 million reduction in funding to the agency.

“I am confident that the 10 percent reduction can be achieved without requiring new closures of state parks or historic site by reevaluating our operations to identify additional efficiencies, eliminating redundancies, and examining how savings from actions taken in the current fiscal year will help in in the next fiscal year,” said Andy Beers, acting commissioner of the Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation, before a joint legislative budget committee this morning.

Environmental agencies have seen hefty funding cuts over the past two years, which forced hundreds of layoffs and temporarily closed several parks and historic sites (public outrage ultimately convinced the legislature to restore park funding).

However, while Cuomo’s 2011-2012 budget proposal included deep spending cuts, it spared parks and the DEC from having to further reduce staffing levels, which supporters and unions say have dropped to dangerously low levels.

(That was, as you’ll recall, the crux of the battle between the Paterson administration and former DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis that led to Grannis’ termination).